Ravage's car mode is as you'd expect from the Alternator line-- pretty much perfect, with no beast mode extras. He's got nifty chrome headlights and tail lights, rubber tires, a detailed interior with adjustable seats and steering wheel, and a trunk that can open. Due to the construction of the toy, however, Ravage does have two other features in car mode that most other Alternators do-- his front hood can't open up, and his front wheels don't have that "front wheel drive" schtick going on. Being a Jaguar XK, this vehicle mode in black is a perfect fit for the Ravage character, so I can see why Hasbro decided to give Ravage another go in the Alternators line after getting the Jaguar license and hearing some of the complaints that Alternator Battle Ravage got from some fans over being humanoid.
    This time around, Ravage has a bonafied beast mode, like his G1 version. He's easily recognizable as a Jaguar, and his overall proportions are pretty spot-on-- his body isn't too long or his legs too short or anything. He even has his hip-mounted rocket launchers like his original cassette version, though they don't fire. His articulation is pretty good considering his unusual construction-- he can move back-and-forth at the shoulders, ankles, and knees of all four legs, which a bit more freedom of movement at the knees on the front legs, but a bit more freedom of movement at the shoulders on the back legs. His tail is articulated at three different places, and his head can move up-and-down at the base of the neck, on a ball joint where the neck meets the head, and the jaw can open and close too. The lack of real backwards movement at the front shoulders is the only thing that's really keeping him from getting a ton of cool poses, though he still can pull of a fair number of them. The way the light purple, red, and silver accents all of his black looks really, really nice, though the royal purple paint markings on his head, while cool-looking, are rather hard to make out if he's not under strong light. The main problem I have with Ravage in this mode-- and indeed, what accounts for pretty much every downside this toy has-- is that his main body isn't substantial enough. You can see through it quite easily from any angle, as it's just the various hood and window panels from vehicle mode just piled on top of each other with a fairly skinny line of plastic connecting everything together at the center. Maybe somehow taking the hood on top of Ravage's upper back and splitting that in half would have helped make the main body look more substantial-- whatever the case, Ravage looks a bit weak design-wise in that respect, even though I wouldn't change a thing about his overall proportions or appendages.
    Alternator Ravage 2.0 is definitely the most original Alternator design of them all. As you'd expect, he has a near-perfect vehicle mode, and some great proportions and look in robot mode, but his main body is way too insubstanial and not solid-looking enough. Still, a recommended buy. I mean, having a Jaguar car turn into a mechanical Jaguar is just pure genius, no two ways around it.

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Review by Beastbot

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